Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon Lead ‘Artists Against Fracking’

In a move that would probably make John Lennon proud -- not to mention inspire him to crack a few dirty jokes about "fracking" -- Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon brought their Artists Against Fracking coalition to a public forum yesterday (Aug. 29).

The group, which also includes actor Mark Ruffalo, met at New York's Paley Center for Media to urge governor Andrew Cuomo not to reverse the state's current ban on the controversial drilling technique known as fracking.

The practice, which involves blasting the ground to trigger the release of natural gas, has drawn the ire of scientists and environmental activists who say it pollutes groundwater. With the New York state legislature poised to vote on a measure that could open areas of the state to fracking, Ono and Lennon decided it was time to apply some political pressure.

"I feel like the end result of wanting to make profits through fossil fuels and drilling for oil and gas is that you overlook individual people and small-town farmers," Lennon argued to Rolling Stone. "That's what's happening in New York right now: they're promising that we won't drill near the reservoirs that supply Manhattan, but that basically means that places that are less populated are somehow less important."

"New York City's going to suffer. They're not thinking about that," Ono chimed in, adding a vote of confidence for Cuomo by saying, "The thing is, the governor is intelligent enough to know that he doesn't want to side with very unpopular people who are doing terrible things for money."

"This is not going to bring jobs to America and save our economy," insisted Lennon. "Once they destroy one community, they move on to the next."

Ono's latest round of activism comes as she prepares to celebrate her 80th birthday next February, an occasion Lennon plans to use as a springboard for new music; as he told reporters, "We're gonna have a little 80th birthday party and a record, and it will be fun."